Frustrating trying to work

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I just need to vent.

So far there have been four times I've tried to do my statistical analysis at home. I've just been having some problems these past few months that make it really hard for me to sit down and concentrate on something important. Otherwise I would have been done months ago.

Okay, each time within 10 minutes of my starting the next door neighbor boy (about 6 years old) has thrown a tantrum. He definately has something "wrong" with him, which I'm guessing is probably autism, so I'm not going to go over and say something about the steady stream of "F...You's" and loud bangings. And of course, his parents haven't said anything about the times I'm screamed at my computer. And I do understand why his mom would send him outside after he'd start that. But geez, I can't begin to think straight without quiet. I failed high school english because the teacher spent the entire period talking to her husband whenever we had a test. Without quiet I get everything completely opposite of what I want it to be.

So the neighbor finally calms down, and I'm not so frustrated from his screaming/banging that I need a break before I can begin working again. So I start and as soon as I run my first test a train comes through town (this is normal and often occurs several times an hour). However, the freakin train driver is an idiot. Most will only blow their whistle if someone is out on the road the tracks run down, and then just for a short time or too, to let you know he's coming. This is one of the guys who likes to have his whistle blaring the entire length of the road the tracks run down.

if I believed in god, I'd think he was deliberately trying to keep me from graduating.

can understand the situation. I like peace and quiet myself.

There's probably things you can do. Noise-canceling headphones, for instance. Over the ear. You can listen to music, or nothing at all. They're supposed to generate a sample of the outside noise, only 180 degrees out of phase. This produces silence. Blessed, beautiful silence. They're a bit spendy, but it's a thought.

Libraries, places like that can be quiet places to. Just a thought.

Libraries are terrible places to work. When I say I need silence, I do mean silence. Libraries have people ruffling book pages, swishing their pants as they walk, talking to each other, whether it be in hushed whispers or yapping on a cell phone on the quiet "no talking at all" floor.

I can go to the departments lab - I have a pass which would enable me to be the only one there. But sheesh, it would be nice to be able to work in my own home instead of having to drive to uni. For one thing, at home I can take a break and make something to eat/watch a video than start back up. I don't have that option if I go to uni, unless I want to get the cops to let me in the lab twice in the same shift.I can block the natural noises around me that I hear every day. But not a nonstop whistle blowing for longer than a minute or a boy screaming at the top of his lungs. Music is just as bad as the boy screaming. Actually worse. For one I don't like music. And for two I'd be trying to make out the lyrics even if I didn't want to

Edit: And of course my roommate will be home soon, and he'll turn on his radio. I've put off working for a week in the past because he didn't tell me he had taken time off from work and he was home the whole time with his stupid radio on. I had also taken time off to do my work, but with him home that wasn't an option. Its not that he has the radio excessively loud - its just that I can hear it that causes a problem.
My hearing is very good - I shocked the manwho ran my hearing test because I picked up so many sounds, and I didn't even click on all the sounds I heard because some were so faint.
So thanks to the boy and the subsequent train whistle, today was a total waste. All I wanted to do was get some dang work done at an acceptable level because I've procrastinated for so long. I don't see why that has to be made impossible

I feel for you, I need quiet as well. White noise is OK, but you need to feel like you're not at the mercy of people around you.
Your best bet would be to find a new place to live, IMO. Other than that, you could wear earplugs when you work, but then what if you want to watch TV or something? It just sucks.
I was so happy to find the place I'm at now--I have a basement bedroom in a house of mature people, on a quiet street. When I was househunting, the first thing I asked was how quiet it was, and said that it was very important to me. (The owner assured me that it was very quiet, and I trusted him, as I would have moved out the next month if it turned out to be noisy.)
But anyway, I said I'd think about it, and then I walked past the house several times to see how quiet it really was, and checked out the neighbours. A lot of them are older people.
Good luck! House hunting can be a pain, but it's totally worth it, because if you don't have a sanctuary to escape to, nothing else matters.